In 1988, Devil’s Den State Park Ranger Wally Scherrey typed a memo thanking the department heads of Arkansas Parks and Tourism for allowing him and Ranger Tim Scott to attend the Fat Tire Bike Week in Colorado as a fact-finding mission about mountain biking events, saying “we feel that it will pay off for the State in the future.” That future has arrived, now showcased on the park’s impressive mountain bike trails and at the upcoming 35th annual Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship on Sept. 14.
The Championship is part of the Arkansas Mountain Biking Series, where professional to amateur riders race for points to be the champion of their class and category at the end of the year. The course will take place on the Monument Trails, which includes the updated Fossil Flats Trail System.
Most of the trails are stacked loops. Highlights include the Outlaw Loop, containing a “gravity cavity” that shoots down a 15-foot gulley and spits riders out the other side. Dollar A Day has elements of a flow trail and Racers Hill offers old-school mountain biking features of hand-cut single track with rock gardens just as it was built 25 years ago. Sawmill has “the ledge,” which spans about 70 feet along a bluff line, and could result in a 30-foot fall into Lee Creek below if a mistake is made. “It has real pucker factor,” Scott said.
“The race is chip timed and riders can register up to the Friday before the race,” Scott said. Sign up online at www.bikereg.com/nw-arkansas-
Today, the Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship is the oldest mountain bike race in Arkansas and Devil’s Den State Park is considered the birthplace of mountain biking in Northwest Arkansas.
In the beginning, mountain biking was a counterculture. Now, Northwest Arkansas is the Mountain Biking Capital of the World.
“It ended up becoming a legitimate form of recreation,” Scott said. “We helped set the example. We helped draw attention to the sport in Arkansas.”
Devil’s Den staff conducted their first mountain bike race mostly on old forest service roads and started building trails down in the park after that. The state park is surrounded by about 64,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service property.
Today, the mountain bike trails are concentrated in the park. The scenic beauty and terrain of the 20-plus miles of mountain bike trails make it a popular place to ride. Last year, Monument Trails were named the best trails in the nation by Outside Magazine.
Bult in partnership with the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, Monument Trails are a collection of world-class destinations found within Arkansas State Parks. The Monument Trails are shared-use trails professionally crafted by some of the worlds best trail builders to highlight unique terrain, historic landmarks, and scenic vistas. The Monument Trail network offers users of all skill levels meaningful and enduring experiences in nature. The trails are accessible to everyone seeking an outdoor adventure.
Situated in the Boston Mountain subdivision of the Ozark Mountains, Devil’s Den is located on the southernmost, highest and most severely eroded of the three plateaus that form the mountain system. Lee Creek, which runs through the park, has cut through layers of sandstone, shale and limestone to expose them to view.
A majority of the park acreage is steep hillsides with level land confined to ridge tops and valley floors. Elevations within the park range from 955 feet to 1,763 feet above sea level. Vegetation is upland hardwood forests, typical to the Boston Mountains subdivision. Mature oak-hickory stands are found on moist and north-facing slopes. Shortleaf pin oak and sandstone glade communities dominate the south-facing slopes and areas of exposed bedrock. Cedar glades exist along stream terraces of Lee Creek.
Devils Den has biking, hiking and backpacking trails that lead to caves, crevices and bluff overlooks. There are cabins, campgrounds, a caf, and swimming pool (open seasonally). A store provides groceries and gifts. The horse camp area includes riding trails and a bathhouse. Interpreters provide guided hikes along several trails, including the 15-mile Butterfield Hiking Trail, plus games and programs daily during the summer.
It is one of the most intact Civilian Conservation Corps parks in America and contains the largest sandstone crevice area in the country. In 1994, the entire park was designated a Historic District and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Devils Den State Park derives a great deal of its identity from the rustic style designs of its historic cabins and its rugged and largely undeveloped terrain.
Visit www.ArkansasStateParks.com for more information about the park. To reach the park, travel eight miles south of Fayetteville on Interstate 49 to exit 53 at West Fork, then go 17 miles southwest on AR 170; or exit I-49 at exit 45 at Winslow and go seven miles west on AR 74. Note, trailers longer than 26 feet should use exit 53.
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